25 years after the premiere: Match race summit in autumn: Match Race Germany on course for a comeback

After a two-and-a-half-year break due to the pandemic, Match Race Germany is back on the move: the organisers of Germany's best-known duel sailing regatta are on course for a comeback in autumn. The organisers from Match Center Germany in Langenargen have already postponed their regular date over Whitsun to the end of September as a precaution. The 23rd edition of the only German stop on the World Match Racing Tour will take place from 29 September to 3 October.

"It's cool, I'm really looking forward to it and will get my boys together," said Hamburg helmsman Max Gurgel, who was the best German at the 22nd edition in 2019 with his team from the Hamburger Segel-Club, making it through to the small final and taking third place in the international showdown. The next edition of the leading German Match Race Grand Prix will be sailed and celebrated at the end of September and the beginning of October: 25 years after its premiere in 1997! In the early autumn of this year, the Lake Constance sailing stage will finally return to the international spotlight against a spectacular Alpine backdrop. The organisers are expecting tens of thousands of visitors to the German duel sailing classic in the match race heartbeat chamber in Langenargen's Gondelhafen and on the surrounding shores.

"We are heading full steam ahead for the comeback," says Event Manager Harald Thierer after intensive discussions with the sponsor family, the team from Yacht-Club Langenargen and those responsible for the popular holiday resort of Langenargen in sunny Baden-Württemberg. The event managers have deliberately replaced the regular date over Whitsun in January with an equally long weekend with the finale on a free Monday (German Unity Day) in the second half of the year. In doing so, the match race organisers are taking a far-sighted approach to possible uncertainties in the third year of the pandemic and relying on the return of their crowd-puller in the second half of the year. "We are a major event, a sailing festival where people enjoy watching and celebrating with the athletes. Hopefully this will be possible again with more ease at the end of September," says Harald Thierer.

The international match racing elite are also eagerly awaiting the restart on a broad scale. "We are planning in close contact with the World Match Racing Tour. The on and off phases during the pandemic were challenging for many. We used the off times to develop further. Match Race Germany is a strong World Tour event that has grown healthily over decades and has therefore survived the pandemic break well. We know from our top sailors that they are looking forward to returning to the global circuit and to Match Race Germany," says Sports Director Eberhard Magg. The success story of the German Match Race Summit as a popular sailing and entertainment event is set to continue at the end of September this year. "That's what sailors, fans and our partners want from the bottom of our hearts. That's what we're working towards," says Magg. Traditionally, the event is sailed on the largest yachts (B40 S) of the World Match Racing Tour. The race management will be taken over by the Yacht Club Langenargen and race director Sabine Brugger in their usual confident manner.

Just like Match Race Germany, the World Match Racing Tour will also pick up speed again in 2022. Nineteen events in twelve countries are planned. New events include regattas in Puerto Rico at the end of May and Italy in mid-June. The year 2022 brings the 22nd season of the World Match Racing Tour, which is the oldest professional series in sailing with "Special Event" status from the World Sailing Association. Internationally, the "World Tour" events and "World Championship" events are all about valuable points for the world rankings and the optimal positioning of the best for the season finale.

Male, female and mixed teams are admitted to all events. The season starts with two classics: the Ficker Cup and the Congressional Cup at the host Long Beach Yacht Club. "The last 18 months have certainly been challenging for many international sporting events," said James Pleasance, Executive Director of the World Match Racing Tour, "but we are delighted to present a full and high-calibre schedule for 2022 and are very much looking forward to the return of world-class match racing events this year."